Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the World Entrepreneurship Forum to host the UAE chapter of the Forum to promote entrepreneurial idea exchange and networking in the region.

Established in 2008, the World Entrepreneurship Forum is an expanding community of entrepreneurs worldwide united to leverage the power of ideas to promote entrepreneurial spirit in all fields of society and find solutions to the economic and social challenges facing the world.

Dubai will be the first city in the Middle East to host a local chapter of the World Entrepreneurship Forum in December 2013 and Dubai SME will be responsible for co-ordinating the local chapter through co-shaping policy ideas with regional key stakeholders to influence change and advancing entrepreneurship as a core strategy for socio-economic development.

The Forum brings together key actors of the entrepreneurial ecosystem from a pool of entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, stakeholders, service providers, experts, academics, and politicians selected for their contribution and impact to society.

The local chapter of the World Entrepreneurship Forum aims at bringing together all stakeholders in any given country to contribute to the Forum's mission: "Promote and Accelerate Entrepreneurship locally as a way to create wealth and social justice, to prepare the world of 2050."

Building on Dubai's position as a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship, Dubai SME and the World Entrepreneurship Forum will work towards putting together a well-rounded local chapter that will advance the Forum's mission and help entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa move to the next level.

The World Entrepreneurship Forum (www.world-entrepreneurship-forum.com) was founded in 2008 by EMLYON Business School (France) and KPMG France along with the ACE (Action Community for Entrepreneurship) and NTU (Nanyang Technological University) in Singapore, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Lyon and Lyon City (France) and Zhejiang University (China).

The programmes and activities of the World Entrepreneurship Forum focus on four key pillars: Creating innovative and high-growth companies for job creation; developing entrepreneurship at the bottom of the pyramid to alleviate poverty and create new markets; shaping entrepreneurial cities; and implementing entrepreneurial education.